The Patriots punted on a 4th-and-8 on their 22.
The NYT 4th Down Bot is totally on board.

If you disagree

The coach and I agree that punting is the thing to do here, but you may be thinking it makes sense to go for it. That would be the right call if you think the Patriots’ chances of converting on fourth down are greater than 87 percent. But based on my analysis, I’d give the Patriots only a 35 percent chance to get a first down here.

Here's the full breakdown of my calculations:

Option

Chance of converting

Chance of winning

Before play

After play

Change

Punt

38%

38%

-

Go for it4th and 8, own 22

35%

38%

33%

–5%

Field goal tryA really, really long kick

<1%

38%

28%

–10%

My decision in context

Along with some circuitry to come up with a win probability for every game situation, all you need to figure out what you should do next is an estimate of how likely you are to make a field goal or convert a first down.

My estimates for these are based on the results of thousands of similar plays, but you may think you're smarter than I am. This chart shows you how changing those estimates would change my recommendation.

What to do on 4th-and-8 on own 22

Down by 7 with 8:39 remaining in the 1st quarter

What coaches usually do

Punt

97% of the time

Go for it

3% of the time

Field goal try

-

Based on about 2,753 fourth downs in similar situations since 2001.

What happened

Ryan Allen punts for 54 yards to Buf24.

Where did these numbers come from?

To estimate a team’s chances of winning, I use a mathematical model that accounts for a whole lot of variables — including the difference in score, the time remaining in the game, and the number of timeouts each team has left. On top of that, I have models for the likelihood that a team makes a field goal and the likelihood that it will convert a first down.

By combining all of this information, I can come up with the best decision a team can make, according to math.

If you want even more details about the numbers behind my decisions, my full model is available on GitHub. Help make me better!